The CT Softball Blog

CHESHIRE—There are some stories you never want to write.

This is one of them.

Over the years, I’ve watched thousands of young women take the softball field across Connecticut. I’ve seen them grow from little girls with oversized helmets and ponytails into confident young women ready to take on the world.

And while we spend so much time talking about batting averages, strikeouts, championships and college commitments, sometimes it’s easy to forget that softball is just a small part of their stories.

Their lives are so much bigger than the game.

Jordan Chymbor was one of those young women.

A 2023 graduate of Cheshire High School and a former member of the Rams softball program, Jordan passed away following a sudden medical emergency on October 17.

She was just 21 years old.

Twenty-one.

An age when life is supposed to be about possibilities, opportunities and dreams still waiting to come true.

Jordan was attending the University of South Carolina, studying neuroscience, and was expected to graduate in December.

Instead, her family, friends, former teammates and an entire softball community are now trying to come to grips with a loss that is almost impossible to comprehend.

The Cheshire softball program shared a heartbreaking tribute to Jordan on Wednesday.

“So many of us had the privilege of knowing Jordan from a very young age, watching her grow up alongside us on the softball fields and in our schools,” the program wrote in a Facebook post. “We will always remember her beautiful smile, her charisma, her love of fun and life, and, above all, the kind and caring human being she was.”

Those words say more about Jordan than any box score ever could.

Because long after the games are over, the uniforms have been put away and the trophies have started collecting dust, it’s the people we remember.

The teammates who became friends. The laughter in the dugout. The bus rides. The memories that have nothing to do with winning or losing.

And the young women who touched our lives simply by being themselves.

As news of Jordan’s passing spread, former coaches, teachers and softball families took to Facebook to share memories of a young woman who clearly left a lasting impression on those who knew her.

Pat McCue, whose daughter Jordan McCue starred on Cheshire’s back-to-back state championship softball teams, remembered how Jordan welcomed his daughter when she was a freshman and new to Cheshire.

“My daughter also Jordan was a freshman softball teammate and new to Cheshire when Jordan was a senior and she treated my daughter extremely kind,” McCue wrote.

Matthew Planeta, who coached Jordan on the Dodd softball team, remembered a player who “brought so much energy, hustle, and heart.”

Kristiaän Merritt, who was involved in Jordan’s education at the University of South Carolina, remembered her as much more than a student.

“Jordan was an absolute rockstar,” Merritt wrote. “She was incredibly bright, caring, and quick-witted. Her loss is devastating down here in SC.”

Heather McConnell also remembered Jordan’s kindness, writing that she was “a beautiful soul and so kind to both of my daughters.”

The tributes painted a picture of a young woman whose impact extended well beyond the softball field, from the teammates she encouraged in Cheshire to the people whose lives she touched in South Carolina.

I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Jordan personally. But I’ve spent enough years around this game, and especially the Cheshire program, to know just how close a softball family can become.

And when one of its own is lost, that heartbreak reaches well beyond the foul lines.

There are no words that can make something like this better. No explanation that can make losing a 21-year-old young woman with so much life ahead of her seem fair.

All we can do is remember her, celebrate the life she lived and wrap our arms around the people who loved her.

The Cheshire softball program ended its tribute with six simple words.

“Always part of our Ram family.”

And that’s exactly where Jordan Chymbor will remain.

Rest easy, Jordan.

A GoFundMe has been established to help Jordan’s family with expenses related to her passing. Click here to donate.

(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)

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